Last step

 

The box is what’s mine to keep for next year.  I kept a little extra just in case.  The ones on the flat are extras for friends and family.  I had SO many!!  But now they’re cleaned off and packed in shredded paper for the Winter.  

Another thing off my to do list. 

Canna Lilly digging

 

The summer is over.  It was time. 

I started these little raised beds with 6 bulbs from an online farm. I couldn’t find any local bulbs that promised 4’+ cannas.  So I took the chance. 

I planted them towards the end of March.  By June they were a couple feet and by July they were between 4-6 feet tall and had multiplied into a beautiful privacy hedge.  I loved these. So tropical looking and so thick.  They also attracted humming birds and butterflies. 

We’ve had our first frost and the leaves started to shrivel so it was time to cut them down and dig up the bulbs for wintering.  I had no idea what to expect when I was all done I had over 30 bulbs. 

I’m giving most of them away  I kept the ones that I wanted and have friends and family taking the rest.  I’ll be ready for March to plant them again and see what my wintered bulbs produce.

#cannalily #gardening #winterprep

Til next year

Summer is over for the pool. I went from still dipping my toes in one week to testing it in warm fall clothes the next.  I do all of the maintenance for our pool all season.  It’s really not too bad if you keep up on it and don’t let it get away  I don’t strip test it  I use actual reagents that are far more accurate and only add things like acid, borax calcium or baking soda.  I have the pool balanced and water lowered before the company comes out to close.  Fairly natural and it makes it easier.  I do NOT blow out lines or put the cover on  I hire someone at a discounted rate to do that.  We don’t add any winter chemicals.  Just raise the chlorine before closing and make sure it’s balanced.  The only clean up in spring is whatever dirt gets under the cover or worms that crawl in.  But we have a dolphin and she does a great job of spring cleaning.

The yard is almost ready for the winter after all of the seeding we did earlier this fall.  No more outdoor maintenance time to try to relax a little bit if possible.

By April we’ll be ready. 

Au revoir! 

#poolclosing #poolmaintenance #winteriscoming

Transition to

 Halloween…temporarily 

I haven’t decorated for Halloween in awhile. We didn’t have too many trick or treaters and the kids were getting older. But now we have more kids coming for candy and my niece and nephew stop by so I wanted to do something that didn’t mean a lot more storage space. I like minimal where possible. 

So Amazon to the rescue for some light up eyes, spider webs and spiders to go with my awesome @hobbylobby  grapevine light up pumpkins.  

The great thing is I can just pick up a few things when Halloween is over and then I still have my fall decor out until I switch to Christmas  

#simplehalloweendecor #falltohalloween 

Salt and pepper?

 I finally got rid of the old and fogged acrylic salt shaker and pepper grinder. I found cute ones on Amazon that were perfect along with some other items that made sense.  

What I love is that these grinders are upside down. So no pepper on the counter from just being set there.  They work really well. I’ve used both and I generally do my cooking right there so it’s easy access. And the little salt cellar was not something I was looking for but something I found to be a good addition for table salt. It comes with a little wooden spoon to throw into a recipe or onto your food.  

The cute little soap pump I just wanted to lighten the area a bit and the matte gold matched my lighting from last year.  The cute little lady susan keeps it all together and easily pushed out of the way if need be. The wood tone on the lazy susan is a pretty warm wood color that just goes well in my kitchen. 

❤️❤️

Clean house with kids

 Over the decades of adulthood I have been asked how I keep the house clean. Regardless of 5 kids or now adult kids coming and going.  

The vacuum in the dark secret is one that I figured out this year when I bought this little stick vacuum with a headlight. So easy to get all of the dirt now and no more coming into the kitchen and seeing all of the missed dirt in the morning light.   Bonus!  While doing this it lights up any smears on the cabinetry and I can quickly wipe them. I do regular wipe our cabinets to keep them free of grime. And if they get smear spots next to the knobs that don’t come off with soap and water I just switch to Murphys Oil Soap and the cabinets are shiny and beautiful again. 

The key to keeping your house clean is not necessarily always cleaning and ignoring your family. The key is to pick up the little messes. Teach your kids the same. Not that this ever once worked on their bedrooms.   

A clean house relaxes me. 

In my dreams

 In my dreams I hope to see you. 

I ask you to visit me. 

Your hug feels real. 

Our conversations are real. 

These dreams make me happy.  

Last night I had that dream. I haven’t had one in awhile but you visited last night.  I woke up before 5 this morning and couldn’t really go back to sleep. I just kept thinking about the dream and you. You in your button up black shirt. I don’t know whatever happened to that shirt of yours.  You spoke to me like you had only been gone shortly. You said something about two weeks but I don’t understand what you meant. You said you weren’t dead. That was the word you used.  I asked for a hug and you hugged me.  I can still feel your hug tonight.  I told you through tears how much I loved you and told you that you would never really understand just how much I truly loved you.  

A mom tries to tell and show their children, in life, how much she loves them but they never truly understand the limitless love of a mother.  Limitless through their mistakes and disappointments and limitless through death.  I still love him. I always will.  These kids of mine mean the world to me. Every one of them special to me.  Everyone of them takes up a piece of my heart that will never heal with their absence. They ARE what made it whole when the youngest arrived 15 years ago. 

Hug your kids. Take photos with them. Take the videos to hear their voices.